If you are among those wretched souls who have never taken advantage of the opportunity to practice Texas holdem online, the entire prospect may seem a bit overwhelming.

How does one go about the process, you might be wondering. Well, the good news is that few things could be easier than getting into online Texas holdem. All you have to do is find a web site offering free holdem games (and there are thousands of them out there) and jump into a game.

All of this sounds simple enough, assuming you have some rudimentary grasp of how to play Texas holdem. However, some of you may be unfamiliar with the structure of Texas holdem.

A typical game begins with the deal. Each player is dealt two cards, facedown. Then you place your bets, or fold. The next phase is called the flop. Another three community cards are dealt face up on the board. Each player has the option of using any or all of these cards along with their down cards to make the best possible five-card hand. After the flop comes the turn (a.k.a. fourth street), in which a fourth community card is dealt.

The next phase to arrive is called the river. At this point, the fifth and final community card is dealt. Each of the rounds comes with its own betting round, as well. At the conclusion of the river betting round, it is time for the showdown. Any player who is still in the game at this point will show his cards face up so that the rest of the players can see who won. The winner who has the strongest hand collects the pot, which is the accumulation of all the money that was bet during that round.

As even such a brief perusal of Texas holdem illustrates, this is a game that can be picked up in a hurry. So log on the Net, find one of the good texas holdem tournaments and start competing today.